Google Takes the A.I. Data Center Race to Outer Space
The prototype will test whether specialized chips can handle AI queries in orbit using only about 1 kilowatt of solar power, Google said.
- On Oct 1, Google will launch its MVP satellite into orbit using a SpaceX Falcon rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base near Santa Barbara, California, marking the first step toward placing AI data centers in space.
- Google's senior vice-president for research James Manyika pitched the project to CEO Sundar Pichai and co-founder Sergey Brin, who quickly approved it after discussing escalating energy needs of AI systems.
- To prepare for space operations, Google tested chips at Crocker Nuclear Laboratory in Davis, where radiation triggered "bit flips" in circuits. The company developed a cooling system using "thermal interface material" to expel heat into space.
- Powered by about 1 kilowatt of solar energy, the satellite will answer simple AI queries for one year. Manyika cautioned the results remain uncertain, comparing the mission to Google's early driverless car efforts.
- Next year, Google plans to launch a pair of satellites and envisions fleets of more than 80 satellites flying in close formation to communicate with one another as they process AI queries in orbit.
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Google to send experimental satellite with data center capabilities to space
Google is preparing to send an artificial intelligence data center into space as the tech giant and a growing number of startups explore moving energy-intensive computing beyond Earth’s atmosphere. The company’s Project Suncatcher is expected to take a major step toward that goal Oct. 1, when a prototype satellite developed by Google is slated to […]
Google will launch its first experimental satellite on October 1st, with which the company would investigate whether it is possible to install data centers essential for operating artificial intelligence in space. Under the program called Project Suncatcher, the company aims to use solar energy directly in space to power AI chips, the New York Times reported.
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